It can be hard to get a car that’s really
competitive on the road and affordable to boot. Some drivers are
simply able to spend $70K on a sports car that meets all of
their needs. Other drivers simply accept the limits of their
wallets and credit lines and drive slower, but more price-point
manageable, passenger cars. If you’re somewhere in between
those extremes, you can find a great balance between staying
competitive and keeping that wallet fairly full. Below, we’ll
go over some performance upgrades you can make to any vehicle
that are far more cost effective than purchasing a high-end
sports car.

Performance Components

These are the priciest of the performance add-ons,
but also the ones most likely to produce direct, instantaneous,
and powerful results. A turbocharger add-on can run several
thousands of dollars even when purchased online, but it can also
provide horsepower boosts of up to 400HP and can even increase
your vehicle’s overall efficiency. From nitrous kits to
superchargers, you can get the horsepower gains and speed
improvements you seek, but at a fairly steep price (though still
much cheaper generally than buying a brand new car).

Performance Chips

Computers themselves may be expensive, but
performance computer chips are actually quite cheap. Often
selling for less than a hundred bucks, an aftermarket
performance chip can provide horsepower gains of up to 60HP, as
well as fuel savings adding up to around 4-7 miles per gallon.
These types of gains may not be as extreme as those seen with
more expensive performance parts, but chips are also easier to
install and replace, besides already being far more inexpensive.
Even most novice car enthusiasts could figure out how to install
a performance computer chip if they so desired.

Performance Body Replacements

Beyond add-ons, there are replacement pieces that
can optimize the performance functionality of your vehicle. OEM
hoods, for example, tend to be very heavy and not very
streamlined on many vehicles. Sleeker hoods of lighter weights
are great replacements for their bulkier cousins if you want to
boost your vehicle’s performance. Go with a carbon fiber hood
for a durable hood replacement, or a fiberglass one for the
lightest hood around. Everything from new exhaust systems to
upgraded spoilers can make a difference in how your car runs and
performs on both the road and track, so you just have to weigh
out what you need, what your goals are, and what’s the easiest
path to success, and then get the parts you require to help you
achieve that.